MONTAGUE — While Montague didn't get the sweep it was hoping for in
Tuesday's clash with Ludington, the Wildcats remained in position to
win at least a share of the West Michigan Conference Lakes title by
rallying to win game two 6-4 to salvage a split.
"Hats off to Ludington," Montague coach Jeff Moss said. "They came ready. We made quite a few costly mistakes in Game 1, and
Ludington made us pay for them...Happy we regrouped and got
the split."
Both teams entered the day unbeaten in WMC Lakes
play, so both teams were battling for pole position in the league. The
Wildcats (19-5, 9-1 WMC Lakes) must sweep last-place Orchard View next
week in order to secure at least a share of the title, while Ludington
faces Oakridge looking to lock up its share.
Having lost game
one 13-9, Montague appeared to be in deep trouble going into the sixth
inning of game two, down 4-0 and in danger of letting its chances of a
conference crown slip away. However, the Wildcats' middle-of-the-order
bats came through in the clutch to get the team close, and Levi Auger,
the No. 9 hitter, slashed a two-run double into center field to bring
across the winning run.
Fletcher Thommen opened the inning
with a single, and Cole Moss ripped a run-scoring double to get his team
on the board. He scored on a Cole Herremans groundout, and Dylan Bailey
delivered a bunt single to score another run. That set up Auger for the
big-time hit.
Montague's Eli Petersen tries to tag out Ludington's Brody Kaminski at third base during Tuesday's doubleheader at Montague. The teams split the two games.
The 'Cats added an insurance run in the
seventh. Thommen again led off with a single, and Moss followed with
another single. A walk to Herremans loaded the bases and Chase Kurtzhal
delivered a sacrifice fly to push across another run.
Eli
Petersen, who battled hard on the mound all day, then retired the side
in order to lock up the win. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits
and struck out five.
"I told the guys, game two was a must win to keep our
chances to win or share the conference title," coach Moss said of his between-games message. "It took us a while to get
going, but we found our way...Now we need some help from Oakridge, and we need to take care
of business with OV to win it outright. It’s a long season and we just
need to continue on what we can control."
Thommen, Moss and Bailey's two hits each led the Wildcat offense in game two.
The
O's never allowed Montague to get comfortable in game one, ripping off
nine runs in the first three innings and answering every Wildcat rally.
Cooper Bradley and Karter Johnson each had three hits and Moss and Auger
had two apiece, but the Oriole offense battered Montague for 15 hits,
all but two of them coming from four players.
With the game
two win, however, the Wildcats remain in position to reach their goal,
and with a potential district battle with North Muskegon looming, the
team feels good about the work it's done so far.
"I'm so proud of this team and the
progress we have made since March," coach Moss said.
